Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets:

Brent Key must be doing something right in Atlanta. Georgia Tech is a tough place to play and a tough place to recruit. When running the triple-option, the Yellow Jackets were at least able to show teams something different and their proficiency with the gimmicky offense gave them a puncher’s chance in more games than it should have due to the talent disparity.

Now, GT is a pretty similar team to anybody else and resides in the middle of a crowded ACC conference, yet Key didn’t see a mass exodus of talent. In fact, the team seems committed to being together and giving it a run at returning to a bowl game for the second straight season.

Offense

The Yellow Jackets profile as a team that could sneak up on somebody this year. They played one heck of a game against rival Georgia and gave the Bulldogs a legitimate scare. They won on the road at Miami and gave Louisville a real game in the season opener. It was clear that the offense was quite a bit better with Texas A&M transfer Haynes King at the controls and he’s back for Round 2.

King threw for over 2,700 yards and 27 touchdowns, but he also threw 16 interceptions. For good measure, he added 10 tuddies on the ground. His 27 TD passes were the most since Joe Hamilton had 29 during the 1999 season. With more passing prowess, GT also had a 1,000-yard rusher in Jamal Haynes and it looks like another good offensive season is in store.

Defense

Duke’s loss may very well be Georgia Tech’s gain. Former Blue Devils DC Tyler Santucci will try to fix a defense that allowed over 200 yards per game through the air and on the ground. Returning starters are always hard to quantify from a bad unit, especially when learning a new scheme, but Santucci is a Mike Elko disciple and that cannot hurt.

The Blue Devils had a top-30 defense by Rush EPA against and ranked just outside the top 50 against the pass. Georgia Tech’s defense will be more aggressive this season and that could create more negative plays. A similar output with 25 takeaways (T-9th) wouldn’t hurt.

Outlook

King’s dual-threat nature and a massive upgrade at defensive coordinator have me a little bit bullish on the Yellow Jackets, despite a brutal schedule. I think they’ll be a better ATS team than a straight-up wins and losses crew, as they may only be favored in four games. I think they have a chance in more than that and my numbers call for 5.35 wins. I think they’re going to pick somebody off and like this one Over the total.

Pick: Over 5 Wins